A member of Grand Valley State University’s nursing faculty is studying how people with Alzheimer’s disease navigate their way to a destination.

For about a decade, Rebecca Davis, associate professor of nursing at GVSU, has been studying wayfinding — the way in which people orient themselves and navigate from place to place.

More recently, however, Davis has focused her research on the way in which people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease get around.

"This all started in my clinical experience. As a nurse, I have noticed how often it is that people get lost in senior facilities," Davis said, noting that many retirement and continuing care facilities have long, non-descript hallways, which make it difficult for residents to find their way to the dining hall or their room.

And when you add a disease like Alzheimer’s to the equation, finding your way can become ever more confusing, Davis said.

"There's a part of the brain called the hippocampus that is responsible for learning and remembering how we get places," Davis said. "In certain diseases of aging, like Alzheimer's, the hippocampus gets damaged, so people who have Alzheimer's disease have a very strong tendency to get lost."

Thanks to a $316,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Davis and her team are using a projected virtual reality simulation of a retirement community and eye-tracking glasses to collect data for their study. The computer program designed by the University of Michigan Virtual 3D Lab is based on a floor plan and design from a local continuing care facility.

Study participants wear a pair of special eye tracking glasses and look at a 12-foot screen while using a joystick to navigate through the virtual facility, following cues like balloons or colorful wall hangings to help them find their destination.

The glasses track where the eye looks; Davis is collecting data on whether colorful cues placed on the walls are helpful during navigation.

Although the study is still ongoing, Davis said she hopes the data will help her team understand how people perceive their surroundings so they can provide more supportive living environments for people with Alzheimer's disease.

"Being able to find your way in your home is one of the most important and comforting activities you can do," Davis said. "There's no real science behind how we can use the environment to be more supportive. That's what our goal is."